Letter to Lambeth

As posted on Episcopal Cafe ... A group of Episcopal rectors and cathedral deans, fresh from a retreat in Canterbury has written to Archbishop Rowan Williams asking him to "continue our Anglican precedent of inviting all jurisdictional bishops of The Episcopal Church in the United States and of the Anglican Church of Canada to the upcoming Lambeth Conference."

20 April 2007

The Most Rev’d Rowan Williams

The Archbishop of Canterbury:

Lambeth Palace
London SE1 7JU
.

Your Grace:

We are members of a clergy colleague group enjoying a retreat at Canterbury Study Centre in the Second week of Easter. While here, we have appreciated the hospitality and history of Canterbury Cathedral itself. Surely this holy place represents the graceful strength and broad wisdom of the entire Anglican Communion of churches. We are proud to locate our own history in this spot, and we are glad that our own ministries are refreshed by our time here.

We can say gratefully and humbly that our own congregations represent centers of faithfulness, outreach and documented growth, something not always reported about mainstream Anglicanism in North America. We believe our growth has something to do with our own practice of invitation and hospitality in the one Lord. We are deeply committed both to the Anglican Communion, and to gays and lesbians as integral members of our communities.

As we meet here in Canterbury, we are also aware that people and committees are simultaneously at work in the design of the next Lambeth Conference. As leaders in our own communities, we are obviously aware, too, of the identity and authority struggles within the Anglican Communion. In those tensions, we appreciate the careful theological wisdom and depth that you have brought through your leadership in our communion.

We salute your stated desires to “keep everyone at the table.” Your recent call for a renewed reading and hearing of scripture, rooted in eucharistic fellowship and the Holy Spirit, is one that we eagerly accept. We note that such a call is what holds our own parishes and cathedrals together. Our local communities are full of people who have disagreements, but who yet share eucharist, scripture, and truly holy communion together. Thus, in our commitment to the resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has continuing occasion to renew us. Thus, too, we celebrate Jesus Christ together in our Anglican heritage.

Toward that end, we urge you to continue our Anglican precedent of inviting all jurisdictional bishops of The Episcopal Church in the United States and of the Anglican Church of Canada to the upcoming Lambeth Conference. We certainly respect the fact such an invitation is yours to give; but we pray that your invitation will be as broad and graceful as the invitation Jesus offers all Christians to gather at table together.

We understand that one of the oldest features of Canterbury Cathedral is the worshipping community, and while here we feel the connection with that central reality in our own places. We are privileged to worship here, as at home, at the invitation of Jesus Christ our Lord. Again, we encourage you to continue that inviting spirit, so that, together, the Anglican Communion can witness distinctively to the world the fullness of resurrection life.

Meanwhile, we remain committed in prayer to your and our common witness, in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Respectfully,
The Very Rev’d Sam Candler

Dean, The Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia

Convenor

The Rev’d Ed Bacon, Rector,

All Saints Church, Pasadena, California

The Rev’d Michael Chalk, Rector,

St. Mark's, San Antonio, Texas

The Rev’d Jim Cooper, Rector,

Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York

The Rev’d Bob Dannals, Rector,

Christ Church, Greenville, South Carolina

The Very Rev’d Peter Elliott, Dean,

Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, British Columbia

The Rev’d Geoffrey Hoare, Rector,

All Saints Church, Atlanta, Georgia

The Very Rev’d Henry Hudson, Dean,

Trinity Cathedral, Little Rock, Arkansas

The Rev’d Brenda Husson, Rector,

St. James Church, New York City

The Rev’d Lucinda Laird, Rector,

St. Matthew's Church, Louisville, Kentucky

The Rev’d Harold Lewis, Rector,

Calvary Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Very Rev’d Tracey Lind, Dean,

Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio

The Very Rev’d Sam Lloyd,

Dean of the National Cathedral, Washington, DC

The Very Rev’d Bill Lupfer, Dean,

Trinity Cathedral, Portland, Oregon

The Rev’d Fred Reynolds, Rector,

St. Paul's Church, Rochester, New York

The Very Rev’d Joe Reynolds, Dean,

Christ Chuch Cathedral, Houston, Texas

The Rev’d Jay Sidebotham, Rector,

Church of the Holy Spirit, Lake Forest, Illinois

The Very Rev’d Spenser Simrill, Dean,

St. Mark’s Cathedral, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Very Rev’d Robert Taylor, Dean,

St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, Washington

The Rev’d Richard Tolliver, Rector,

St. Edmund's Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The Rev’d William Tully, Rector,

St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City

Copy:

The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori

The Most Reverend Andrew Hutchison

The bishops of our respective dioceses